The Denver Nuggets got off to a hot start against the Los Angeles Lakers, leading in double digits mid-time. Unfortunately, a heavy Lakers whistle and heavy dose of LeBron James coupled with a complete meltdown from Denver made the game do a 180. LeBron got a triple double while Nikola Jokic had a quiet night and the Lakers again proved to be a lot for Denver.
Jokic started the game by partying on Marc Gasol who couldn’t do anything to stop him. That helped Denver open a five-point lead, but LeBron also played well, leaving Denver no more of a lead. Jamal Murray was also aggressive about starting with a few buckets early on. However, the Lakers were well behind LeBron and play was very tight when the banks started to come. Dennis Shroder and Anthony Davis carried the burden while LeBron got a rest. However, the Denver bank got a boost from Monte Morris and Michael Porter Jr. to keep them up front. After one it was Nuggets thirty, Lakers twenty-seven.
The bank was filled with energy to start the second quarter and they were using a 2-3 zone which was causing some trouble for the Lakers. That helped grow the lead for Denver, who came six times ahead of Morris, MPJ and JaMychal Green. The Lakers pushed back, but they couldn’t string together enough baskets to cut Denver’s lead. Unfortunately, right when LA went cold, so did Denver, so their lead stayed around 8 for several minutes. However, the Lakers couldn’t buy a bucket and eventually Nuggets’ lead was doubled. LeBron really was the one who did everything for LA, although TNT’s announcing crew thought Schroder is elevating himself to the entire NBA by diving to the ground. The Nuggets attack got a bit stuck with the end of the half, but it didn’t hurt them much. At the end of the second, they were up another dozen.
The second half started with three quick error calls to Denver in the first ninety seconds, including a pair of ands for the Lakers. Each call went to LA early in the third and Nugget’s lead was reduced to five, forcing Michael Malone to take a time-out. The Nuggets found momentum behind Murray to hold off the Lakers run and held the lead at five mid-quarter. The Lakers didn’t do much on the offense, but they reached the free-throw line and kept the pressure on Denver. The Nuggets went ice cold as the quarter ended and a nice fade away from LeBron put the Lakers ahead with just over a minute to go. The next ninety seconds were the worst that Denver’s bench has likely played all season, with a 15-0 chase in Los Angeles.
The Nuggets didn’t resist starting the fourth, which prompted Malone to call a Fury timeout with just over a minute in the fourth. The Nuggets game was just shoddy. They would take a bucket, but then fall asleep on defense or turn it over the other way. The Lakers’ lead rose to fourteen and it felt like all the air was out of Denver’s sails. Jokic made one last attempt to get Denver in ten before a Lakers time-out and a subsequent 5-0 run pushed the lead straight up again. Lebron threw a few more highs passes and fiddled around a bit, grabbing a triple double. The deep couch checked in and it was done. Nuggets collapse in second half, losing 114-93.